U.S. Job Market Stumbles After Hiring Binge

Employers added 120,000 positions last month, far short of expectations.

By PAUL WISEMANTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: Saturday, April 7, 2012 at 4:02 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, April 7, 2012 at 4:02 a.m.

WASHINGTON | The U.S. job market took a breather in March after its best hiring stretch since the Great Recession.

Employers added 120,000 jobs last month — half the December-February pace and well short of the 210,000 economists were expecting. The unemployment rate fell from 8.3 percent in February to 8.2 percent, the lowest since January 2009, but that was largely because many Americans stopped looking for work.

Still, few economists expect hiring to fizzle in spring and summer, as it did the past two years. And they blamed seasonal factors for much of Friday's disappointing report from the Labor Department.

"We don't think this is the start of another spring dip in labor market conditions," said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist with Capital Economics.

The report was also closely watched in political circles. If employers retreat on hiring, consumers could lose confidence in the economy and potentially dim President Barack Obama's re-election hopes.

Ashworth and other economists cited the weather for the latest jobs report. A warm January and February allowed construction companies and other businesses that work outdoors to hire workers a few weeks earlier than usual, effectively stealing jobs from March. It helps explain a 7,000 drop in construction jobs.

Alan Amdahl, who has run his own construction company in Sioux Falls, S.D., for three decades, said a mild winter helped contribute to a flurry of new remodeling jobs. He started hiring in January.

Economists also say the numbers can bounce around from month to month. Consistently creating 200,000 jobs a month is tough. The economy hasn't put together four straight months of 200,000 or more new jobs since early 2000.

Economists are still encouraged by the recent hiring trend: Each month from January through March has generated an average of 212,000 jobs.

The factory hiring is especially welcome. Expanding factories create more jobs at the mines that produce raw materials, in warehouses and at trucking companies.

Government jobs, which declined by an average of 22,000 a month last year, fell just 1,000 in March. An improving economy is generating tax revenue and easing budget problems at city halls and statehouses across the country.

The March slowdown brings back painful memories of what happened in mid-2010 and again in 2011, when the economy lost momentum and job growth sputtered.

Most investors didn't have the chance to deliver a verdict on the report. The stock market was closed for Good Friday. Bond markets closed early.

The job market had been on a recent roll. From December through February, the country added 734,000 jobs, an average of 245,000 each month. The only three-month stretch that was better since the recession ended was March through May 2010, when the government was hiring tens of thousands of temporary workers for the census.

<p>WASHINGTON | The U.S. job market took a breather in March after its best hiring stretch since the Great Recession.</p><p>Employers added 120,000 jobs last month — half the December-February pace and well short of the 210,000 economists were expecting. The unemployment rate fell from 8.3 percent in February to 8.2 percent, the lowest since January 2009, but that was largely because many Americans stopped looking for work.</p><p>Still, few economists expect hiring to fizzle in spring and summer, as it did the past two years. And they blamed seasonal factors for much of Friday's disappointing report from the Labor Department.</p><p>"We don't think this is the start of another spring dip in labor market conditions," said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist with Capital Economics.</p><p>The report was also closely watched in political circles. If employers retreat on hiring, consumers could lose confidence in the economy and potentially dim President Barack Obama's re-election hopes.</p><p>Ashworth and other economists cited the weather for the latest jobs report. A warm January and February allowed construction companies and other businesses that work outdoors to hire workers a few weeks earlier than usual, effectively stealing jobs from March. It helps explain a 7,000 drop in construction jobs.</p><p>Alan Amdahl, who has run his own construction company in Sioux Falls, S.D., for three decades, said a mild winter helped contribute to a flurry of new remodeling jobs. He started hiring in January.</p><p>"Our winter didn't really exist," he said. "It's just incredible. People didn't hibernate."</p><p>Economists also say the numbers can bounce around from month to month. Consistently creating 200,000 jobs a month is tough. The economy hasn't put together four straight months of 200,000 or more new jobs since early 2000.</p><p>Economists are still encouraged by the recent hiring trend: Each month from January through March has generated an average of 212,000 jobs.</p><p>Anthony Chan, chief economist at JP Morgan Wealth Management, noted strong growth among businesses that are especially sensitive to the economy's health. Hotels and restaurants hired 39,000 workers. Manufacturers added 37,000.</p><p>The factory hiring is especially welcome. Expanding factories create more jobs at the mines that produce raw materials, in warehouses and at trucking companies.</p><p>Government jobs, which declined by an average of 22,000 a month last year, fell just 1,000 in March. An improving economy is generating tax revenue and easing budget problems at city halls and statehouses across the country.</p><p>The March slowdown brings back painful memories of what happened in mid-2010 and again in 2011, when the economy lost momentum and job growth sputtered.</p><p>Most investors didn't have the chance to deliver a verdict on the report. The stock market was closed for Good Friday. Bond markets closed early.</p><p>The job market had been on a recent roll. From December through February, the country added 734,000 jobs, an average of 245,000 each month. The only three-month stretch that was better since the recession ended was March through May 2010, when the government was hiring tens of thousands of temporary workers for the census.</p><p>Some economists, most notably Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, say the job market faces bigger problems than unseasonably warm weather and month-to-month volatility in the employment numbers. They say the economy isn't growing fast enough to sustain strong job growth and to push the unemployment rate down rapidly.</p>